Balasore college sets up swift trial team after BEd student dies by suicide over harassment complaint

NEW DELHI: Police have set up a swift trial initiative (STI) team to expedite the probe into the death of the college student who set herself on fire following inaction over her sexual harassment complaint against a professor, an officer said on Tuesday. DIG of Police (Eastern Range) Satyajit Naik said the STI team includes investigators, forensic experts and prosecutors who are working to collect the medical records and digital evidence and conduct forensic analysis to build a strong case.

He said the STI team will ensure speed and coordinated investigation of the case. The deceased student's July 1 letter to the Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College's Internal Complaint Committee is being treated as the FIR, an official said. The police arrested Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College principal Dillip Kumar Ghose on Monday for abetment of suicide of the student . The head of the Education department of the college Samira Kumar Sahu was arrested on Saturday after the student set herself ablaze on the college campus.

The principal and the HoD have been booked under sections 108/3 (5) (abetment), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation), 75 (1) (iii) which deals with sexual harassment and sections 78 and 79 that deal with stalking and insult the modesty of woman. Section 108/3(5) of BNS deals with abetment of suicide under which a person can get a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.

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MP blames principal for inaction

Meanwhile, Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi said: "The principal did not function as he should. He did not monitor the investigation of the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC). The principal has serious fault for which the incident took this shape." The BJP MP said the woman student had met him and he had suggested to her to file a police complaint. The MP claimed that the "Principal had told the student that her allegation of sexual harassment was false...The student took this step after the principal's statement."

The 20-year-old second-year BEd student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Balasore had accused the Head of Education Department, Samira Kumar Sahu of sexually harassing her. She set herself on fire on Saturday on the college campus over alleged inaction against the professor and suffered 95 per cent burns. The woman was first admitted to the Balasore district hospital and then shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for advanced treatment.